BOYERTOWN >> The Boyertown Area School Board has agreed to spend another $16,000 to find out just how bad the damage is at the high school’s Memorial Stadium and just how much it may cost to fix it.
The money will be paid to the firm of Barry Isett & Assoc., which did the initial assessment of the stadium and found multiple structural and safety problems, nearly all of which are associated with water penetrating the superstructure of the 33-year-old stadium.
A Jan. 30 report on the visible problems was prepared for the school board’s facilities committee, which recommended to the full board that a more in-depth study be done, along with suggestions for repairs.
According to the report, the stadium, which has seating capacity for 2,800 and was built with a concerted community effort in 1985, now suffers from numerous dangerous conditions.
As the years and “acid rain” have eaten away at the structure’s envelope, water has borne away sealant, rusted exposed steel beams and even penetrated as far as the electrical system for the bathrooms, storage rooms and concession stand beneath the seating.
The report declared “the entire area of the underside walkway unsafe and a potential hazard.
Further, “the entire section of the wall along the track is unsafe and a potential hazard.”
As for the interior spaces, “there are water stains on the interior walls, finished floors and the underside of the bleachers.”
The report even has a photograph of rust on the circuit breaker box caused by water penetration. “The presence of water in the vicinity of electrical equipment poses a potential hazard,” the report notes.
The results of the study should be available within six to eight weeks, said William Gasper, the district’s facility engineer.
As a result, Interim Superintendent Dave Krem said “obviously, the facility cannot be used for the spring track season.”
Of further concern, said board member Jill Dennin, is whether the repairs can be made in time for high school graduation in June.
“The engineers say stadium was not maintained properly,” said school board member Christine Neiman. “If we’re going to spend money on this, I want to make sure it’s maintained” in the future.
Krem said he spoke with the original designers, Spill Farmer Architects, and said they cannot be enlisted to suggest repairs because “the people who built this are all retired. They no longer have licenses.”
“The truth is, this is 35 years of weather and acid rain eating the bricks and mortar,” he said adding some of the steel beams are no longer supported because of decaying brick.
The next meeting of the school board’s facilities committee is at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20 at the Education Center on Montgomery Avenue. The meeting is open to the public.
